A Separate Peace: Character Analysis

John Knowles wrote a fantastic novel entitled A Separate Peace. Some important character in the novel were Gene, Finny, Leper, and Brinker. Gene and Finny were best friends; Leper was the outcast; Brinker was the “hub of the class” This was a novel about friendship, betrayal, war, peace, and jealousy. Although Gene and Finny were similar in many ways, they also had numerous differences.
To begin, Gene and Finny were similar in that they both had similar characteristics, both participated in athletics, and both were members of the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. First, Gene and Finny had similar physical characteristics. For example, Gene and Finny were both similar in weight and height. Finny told Gene, “…you’re the same

height I am, five-eight and a half…” Next, Gene and Finny both participated in athletics. Both were gifted but it was clear that Finny was the superior athlete up until his accident. For example, when Finny created Blitzball, it was the surprise of the summer. Gene stated, “He had … invented a game which brought his own athletic gifts to their highest pitch.” Last, Gene and Finny were members of the Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. They formed this club to bring their friends closer and to have fun. Although they broke many rules like the one that stated that only seniors could jump from the tree, it brought them closer together. Finny stated, “We’ll jump together to cement our partnership.” To conclude, Gene and Finny are similar in numerous ways such as their athletic abilities, height, and their club.
In addition, Gene and Finny did not have the same academic achievements, leadership qualities, or personalities. First, Gene and Finny did not share the same academic achievements. Gene was obviously the superior student. He had all A’s while Finny had straight C’s. Finny predicted that Gene would graduate as Valedictorian, but the book never states if he does or not. Finny also stated, “You work to hard… You know all about History and English and French and everything else!” Next, Finny was the leader while Gene was the follower. For example, the Winter Carnival was spearheaded by Finny, who assigned jobs to people like Gene. When Finny told Gene that they’d better start organizing the winter carnival, Gene replied there was no carnival, but Finny said, “There is now…” Last, Gene was very jealous and envious while Finny was honest and good natured. Gene blamed Finny for his failing of his trigonometry. The night before, Finny made him go to the beach, and Gene thought that he purposefully tried to make him fail. “Finny had deliberately set out to wreck my studies… that explained his insistence that I share all his diversions.” To conclude, Gene and Finny may have been best friends, but their personalities were total opposites. Gene surpassed Finny with his academic qualities, while Finny did the same with his leadership skills.
One can say, Gene and Finny’s friendship was strained by the acceleration of the war. Gene got extremely jealous and jounced the limb causing Finny to fall which ended his days of playing sports. This caused Gene to feel guilty and Finny was still in denial. Gene’s guilt put Brinker’s trial in action; this trial upset Finny, causing him to storm out of the room and fall down the stairs, breaking his leg again. Finny later dies due to bone marrow in his bloodstream. Before Finny dies, he forgives Gene, but Gene will have to carry this guilt for the rest of his life.